Salaula: The World of Secondhand Clothing and Zambia
Product ID: 46225022
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When we donate our unwanted clothes to charity, we rarely think about what will happen to them: who will sort and sell them, and finally, who will revive and wear them. In this fascinating look at the multibillion dollar secondhand clothing business, Karen Tranberg Hansen takes us around the world from the West, where clothing is donated, through the salvage houses in North America and Europe, where it is sorted and compressed, to Africa, in this case, Zambia. There it enters the dynamic world of Salaula , a Bemba term that means "to rummage through a pile." Essential for the African economy, the secondhand clothing business is wildly popular, to the point of threatening the indigenous textile industry. But, Hansen shows, wearing secondhand clothes is about much more than imitating Western styles. It is about taking a garment and altering it to something entirely local, something that adheres to current cultural norms of etiquette. By unraveling how these garments becomes entangled in the economic, political, and cultural processes of contemporary Zambia, Hansen also raises provocative questions about environmentalism, charity, recycling, and thrift. Review: Interesting lok at an unknown industry - We,as citizens of the world, need to get over the idea that it is somehow improper if the players in the second hand chain make a profit for their efforts.Somehow, it is considered some kind of wrong thing to do if you just recycle clothes,instead of donating to Good Will or Salvation Army,These groups are fine, but they collect such a small amount of the clothing that is discarded.it is amazing how much clothing Salvation Army collects that is sold to used clothing processors,and I hope this amount grows. Review: Great! - Great! This book really described what second hand clothing is like in Africa. It is a great read and would recommend it.
| Best Sellers Rank | #1,955,512 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #502 in Commerce (Books) #1,580 in Customs & Traditions Social Sciences #2,256 in Sociology (Books) |
| Customer Reviews | 5.0 out of 5 stars 5 Reviews |
W**D
Interesting lok at an unknown industry
We,as citizens of the world, need to get over the idea that it is somehow improper if the players in the second hand chain make a profit for their efforts.Somehow, it is considered some kind of wrong thing to do if you just recycle clothes,instead of donating to Good Will or Salvation Army,These groups are fine, but they collect such a small amount of the clothing that is discarded.it is amazing how much clothing Salvation Army collects that is sold to used clothing processors,and I hope this amount grows.
A**A
Great!
Great! This book really described what second hand clothing is like in Africa. It is a great read and would recommend it.
W**N
Good Condition
I just needed the book for my anthropology class, so it's not really relevant if I like it or not, but the book is in good condition. No complaints.
M**T
Consumers as active participants
The author, an anthropologist, explores the phenomenon of second-hand clothes being exported from the West into Zambia, where they are sold on as "luxury goods". She argues against the idea that this is a North-South neo-colonial or aid transaction, asserting that Zambians are not just passive recipients of recycled clothes, but active consumers making informed (or at least broadly understood) cultural choices. She also explores how clothes, as cultural signifiers, give the wearer meaning in the specific Zambian social context. She also identifies reasons why people choose salaula and its impact on culture and "modernization" in Zambia Hansen explains the whole commodity chain of procurement, distribution and consumption of second-hand clothes. The reader may be surprised to learn that clothes given away to charities may be sold to exporters for resale in developing countries at all.
S**Y
Second hand clothing in Africa
One of the best researched books that looks at how second hand clothing discarded in the West can play a central role in the lives of Africans. It offers an alternative perspective to the negative views and mountains of rotting clothing that are discarded elsewhere on the African continent.
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